Posts Tagged ‘technology’

Following SelectUSA’s participation in the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), it is the optimal time to look at how foreign direct investment (FDI) in high technology, or high-tech, supports innovation and growth in the United States.

What is high-tech?SelectUSA defines the high-tech sector as an industry that relies on a skilled and educated workforce, acts as an innovative producer in our economy, and creates and utilizes advanced technologies. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the high-tech sector’s share of workers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations is more than twice that of the national average.

This industry is quite large and growing consistently, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). In 2018, high-tech companies contributed $8.3 trillion of economic value in the United States, accounting for nearly 23 percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). Additionally, high-tech companies employ approximately 20 million U.S. workers. The U.S. high-tech industry also continues to grow, especially in fields such as the data processing, hosting, and related services sub-industry, which had a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 57.9 percent from 2013 to 2018.

How has FDI impacted the U.S. high-tech sector?FDI supports the high-tech industry in the United States and helps it thrive. Specifically, the inward position of FDI in the U.S. high-tech sector was $2.0 trillion in 2018. That’s 46 percent of total FDI in the United States! It also steadily continues to grow: the five-year CAGR for FDI in the high-tech sector was 10.1 percent between 2013 and 2018. This growth is faster than the comparable all-industry FDI CAGR average of 9.8 percent.

The United States sees tangible results from high-tech FDI. According to BEA, foreign-owned companies in high-tech industries have steadily increased their annual U.S. research and development (R&D) spending over recent years to $48.7 billion in 2017. High-tech FDI also accounted for $169.5 billion of total U.S. goods exports in 2017. Additionally, foreign-owned U.S. affiliates in the high-tech sector directly supported more than 2.1 million U.S. jobs in 2017.

So, what does this mean for the high-tech sector?All these data points further confirm that high-tech investment are important drivers of growth for the U.S. economy. As FDI into this sector continues to grow, the United States will see advanced innovation, continue to employ millions of highly skilled and educated workers, and further the competitiveness of our high-tech sector. To maintain success in high-tech and all other sectors, SelectUSA will continue to help global business investors and U.S. economic developers to succeed in the U.S. economy.

About SelectUSAHoused within the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, SelectUSA promotes and facilitates business investment in the United States. To learn more about SelectUSA’s services, the U.S. business and investment climate, and how FDI benefits the U.S. economy, visit selectusa.gov and follow @SelectUSA on Twitter.

Sánchez highlighted the initiative’s new and enhanced programs that will help advance environmental exports in 2013. In particular, water technology companies can look forward to the launch of the fully mobile and interactive U.S. Environmental Solutions Toolkit. The Toolkit is an innovative online resource that provides foreign buyers with the U.S. model for solving environmental issues by marrying EPA research and regulatory guidance with a catalogue of U.S. technology providers. Sánchez emphasized the usefulness of the toolkit to water companies in particular noting that, “a second tranche of water modules will include solutions for arsenic in drinking water, biosolids treatment, and secondary wastewater treatment.”

The Under Secretary also relayed his enthusiasm for the Environmental Solutions Exporter Portal, which provides companies with a single window to access the full suite of U.S. government services in the environmental sector.

“It’s important to note that both the Portal and the Toolkit are demand-driven products that were conceived by industry,” said Sánchez, explaining that the tools will evolve as the government responds to needs of the private industry.

“The new Portal will offer options for real-time feedback on content and programs; it is designed to be both community- and results-oriented, offering a variety of avenues for information exchange and results tracking. The new platform will provide us with the ability to know what is working, what isn’t, and how best adjust to the changing needs of industry.”

Tyler Braswell is an intern for the International Trade Administration’s Office of Public Affairs. He is studying International Business and attends George Washington University.

The Digital Age is upon us. The effect of digital technology on the global market has been well documented as technology-based companies continue to supply the world with innovative methods and products that increase the quality and efficiency of American lives and businesses. The creation of jobs due to new technology as well as the continued financial success of technology-based firms has made the promotion of technology-based innovation a top priority for any economy looking to compete internationally.

President Obama’s plan to make high-speed wireless services available to 98% of Americans will make technology-based software and products even more accessible to American consumers. As technology is integrated more deeply into society, the U.S. is working to ensure that these integrations directly translate to domestic economic growth.

On Feb. 4, Francisco Sánchez, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, will participate in an event hosted by the Information Technology Innovation Foundation (ITIF). The ITIF is a non-partisan think tank whose mission is to help American policymakers better understand the nature of a new innovation-driven economy.

The ITIF discussion panel will focus on the increase in global competition to host technology-based firms and the benefits that hosting such companies can have on a country’s economy. The event will also feature information on how countries attract technology-based firms and what the U.S. has done to improve its appeal to those firms. The Under Secretary will be joined on the panel by the general counsels for NCR and Qualcomm.

Sánchez and the panel will answer questions from industry participants concerning the advantages currently offered to firms that choose to do business within the United States.

The Under Secretary will also provide information on certain policies the U.S. has enacted to promote technology-based industry within the U.S. as well as trade agreements designed to benefit American companies.

The U.S. is actively advancing trade agreements and initiatives to broaden market access. Technology-based firms will be among the primary beneficiaries. Trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will help technology-based firms by expanding access to key Asian markets and removing bans on border crossing data-flows.

American leaders—both in government and business—appreciate that supporting technology-based firms is necessary to achieve President Obama’s goal of increasing our exports and re-balancing our economy, which are embedded in the National Export Initiative. This event will reaffirm the International Trade Administration’s commitment to increase exports, further the global expansion of domestic businesses, and attract new technology-based industries to the U.S. economy.